Chuck Woolley, host of “Love Connection” and longtime TV game show star, died Saturday at the age of 83.
His death was announced on Platform X by Mark Young, Woolley’s friend and co-host of the podcast Blunt Fourth Truth.
“Life would not be the same without him,” Young wrote. “Rest in peace brother.”
Woolley died at his home in Texas, Young told The Associated Press in an email.
Woolley was born in Ashland, Kentucky, and served in the U.S. Navy before attending college. He entered the world of show business in the 1960s as a member of the pop band The Avant-Garde, whose most famous hit, “Naturally Stoned,” reached No. 40 on the Billboard charts.
In 1975, he was chosen to host the debut season of a new game show called “Wheel of Fortune.” This came after a rival actor vying for the job appeared visibly inebriated during an early taping. Woolley was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1978, but left the show in 1981 due to contract issues, and Pat Sajak took over, beginning a 43-year run as host.
From 1983 to 1994, Woolery hosted more than 2,000 episodes of the game show “Love Connection.” Romance-seeking contestants choose a partner from three videotaped contestants, go on a date, and describe their experience in front of a live audience. (The audience could also vote on which of the three potential partners the contestants should choose.)
He also hosted “Ringo,” “Scrabble” and “The Chuck Woolley Show,” which aired for 65 episodes in 1991.
Woolery was inducted into the American Television Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007.
In later years, Woolley appeared frequently in right-wing media. He was a prolific tweeter and later became a podcaster.
In 2014, he and Young launched Blunt Fourth Truth, a show that aims to “tackle the toughest issues of the day without the typical angry white jokes,” according to an official description. .
Woolley is survived by his wife Kim, sons Michael and Sean, and daughter Melissa. His 19-year-old son Charles Daniel Woolley died in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles in 1986.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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